Valley declaws ‘Tabaquite Tiger’

FORMER Education Minister Dr Adesh Nanan’s attempt to trumpet the “advances”of the former UNC goverment in tertiary education were thwarted when he could not justify the rationale for establishing the College of Science, Technology and Applied Arts of Trinidad and Tobago (COSTAATT). Speaking during debate on the Accreditation Council of TT Bill 2004 in the House of Representatives on Friday, Nanan claimed that plans were afoot to move John Donaldson Technical Institute and San Fernando Technical Institute out of COSTAATT and place them into the new University of TT.

He claimed that from 1993 to 1995, the then PNM government reduced funding to the National Institute of Higher Education Research Science Technology (NIHERST). Nanan said it was on this basis that the UNC “turned NIHERST into a community college called COSTAATT.” Valley then inquired: “Why was there a need to bring COSTAATT when there was NIHERST?”

The Tabaquite MP responded: “I want to move on.” Nanan alleged that the UNC never closed down the country’s youth camps “out of spite” to the PNM but because many of the facilities were archaic. The UNC MP even claimed that Prime Minister Patrick Manning ordered that a principal of San Fernando Technical Institute be removed “on a political basis.” Nanan said Government was offering no clues about how the National Training Agency (NTA), TT Institute of Technology would be affected by the Accreditation Council. He suggested that Government bring a Bill to Parliament that would vest the assets of the Board of Industrial Training into the NTA.